Quilled Tree of Life

Back in January I received an email from Madeleine Lapke, who asked for quilling advice about a project she was planning to do with the sixth grade class at Holy Family School in the state of Washington. Each year with the help of parent volunteers, the school hosts a series of fundraising events that culminates with an impressive silent auction. Madeleine had it in mind that the class of thirty students could learn to quill and use their new found skill to embellish a piece of artwork as their contribution to the auction. The evening was a big success and the students' quillwork brought in a high bid of over three thousand dollars!Madeleine said, "There were ohhhhhss and ahhhhhhhs all night long! It turned out to be a perfect project to do with sixth graders and was something that all of them felt successful at (and some even got addicted to!) The best part was the meaning behind it... each individual coil was not so special, but when they were all put together the magic happened. Pictures really do not do it justice - it was stunning."Madeleine explained the process... she selected a picture that she thought would serve well as inspiration. (It happened to be by an unknown artist, so she was careful not to copy it directly.) Then she and other parents showed the students how to roll colorful coils which they made in abundance - nearly 1000! - during rainy day recesses. Madeleine outlined the design on a large piece of archival paper and supervised while the children glued the coils onto the outline as if it was a puzzle.
The auction website described the project this way: "The Tree of Life symbolizes our students. They continue to grow, rooted in their beliefs, branching out and blossoming with wisdom and beauty. The canopy of leaves symbolizes God as Creator, Provider, and Protector over our children. The sixth grade’s artistic expression of all these themes is a work of art to treasure."

And speaking of trees... Yulia Brodskaya, with her endless quilling creativity and craftsmanship, has done it again. This time it's a festival poster that's sweeping the internet by storm, a paper-on-edge tree loaded with musical instruments. Yulia gives all of us quillers, young and old-er, something to aspire to. An interesting tidbit... Madeleine had emailed Yulia also, and she wrote back to wish the students well!

Thanks to Krissy of PaperSchmaper for sending this link with its lovely closeups of the poster.

Just a reminder... a CardMaker Magazine Giveaway is going on through Monday. To enter, leave a comment here.
Ann Martin
Ann Martin

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Comments

  1. What a beautiful project! The kids' work reminds me yet again how effective the use of same-colour quilling strips on coloured backgrounds can be.

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  2. НЯМАМ ДУМИ -СТРАХОТНО Е ДЪРВОТО

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  3. What a wonderful story... thank you for sharing!
    Of course Yulia creativity is always welcomed eye candy!!!

    Keep on Quillin',
    Denise ~ Custom Quilling Supplies
    http://www.customquillingbydenise.com/shop

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  4. Always something beautiful happening on this blog. Excellent work, Madeleine!

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  5. I have a soft spot in my heart for Trees of Life! And this one is absolutely fabulous! I hope images were made and each student given one to remember this shared project.

    I just love that it was a class project!

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  6. That is truly a work of art. And to think that was created by 6th graders. They did a fantastic job.

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  7. Excellent project! Everyone should be so proud of their contribution.

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  8. Such an adorable project!! I got to try quilling soon :)

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  9. What an amazing project...and what an amazing teacher to put it together for her students! Thank you so much for sharing it with us!

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  10. Tree of life is a beauty. The kids must have had a great time on this project.

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  11. Found you after I landed on Ann's blog. What a bonanza of creative information! I am just thrilled and will be following you. I LOVE your work. I have no clue what twilling is...but I want to learn.

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  12. I apologize...I mean QUILLING.

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  13. Thanks everyone! Donna B, thanks for visiting and I hope you'll give it a try sometime.

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  14. Wow what a cute project
    great round up you have here.

    i do little quilling too.do visit me sometimes

    Hugs
    Shahana
    http://craftliciouss.blogspot.com/

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  15. Thanks Shahana, your quilled pond is quite cute!

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  16. I love this idea and am considering a quilling class project with fourth graders. I am a new to quilling as well. Do you have any suggestions for quilling with children? We are looking to do a "Merlion" motif - we live in Singapore and the merlion is the national symbol. Thank you for any tips you can offer.

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